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No. 627,326. Patented June 20, I899. .1. L. CREVELING.

ELECTRIC LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR CARS.

(Application filed 'Apr. 10, 1899-) (Nb Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN L. CREVELING, OF NEW YORK, N. Ya

ELECTRIC-LIGHTING SYSTEM FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 627,326, dated June 20,1899.

Application filed April 10, 1 8 9 9.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN L. CREVELING, a citizen of the United States,residing in New York,county of New York, State of New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Electric-Lighting Systems forCars, as set forth in the following specification and drawing, forming apart thereof.

My invention pertains to a system of lighting cars by electricitygenerated by power taken from some rotating member the motion of whichis dependent upon the motion of the can -as, for example, the car-axle.

To maintain the lights while the car is standing still or while runningat a speed too low to cause the generator to give the propervoltage, Ihave employed a storage battery or accumulator, and it therefore becomesnecessary that the current supplied to the mains shall be of uniformpolarity and not reverse with the reversal of direction of motion of thecar, as would be the case ordinarily. To reverse the dynamo-terminals tocorrespond to the direction of rotation of its armature, I have employeda switch or pole-changer operated by friction and moving in one way orthe other, according to the direction of rotation of the armature; andmy invention comprehends means whereby the said frictional contact shallbe broken as soon as the armature-shaft reaches a certain speed, thusavoiding all excessive and unnecessary wear upon the contact parts.

In the drawing, which is a diagrammatic View of an electric-lightingsystem compris ing my invention, 1 represents the armatureshaft of thedynamo and is shown both in side elevation and in end section and bothviews considered as a continuation of the same shaft in order to moreclearly show the operation of the various parts attached thereto. Uponthe shaft 1 is secured the pulley or disk 14, and upon any suitablesupport and having the same center as the shaft 1 is mounted anysuitable rocking frame, carrying the magnets 7 and the armatures 12,pivotally supported and normally held in contact with the disk 14, as bythe spring 16, the contact-faces of the armatures being provided withthe leather shoes 13. Upon the extremities of the rocking frame aremounted the knives or contactpieces 17 and 18, insulated therefrom, asby Serial No. 712,410. (No model.)

the blocks 19, of any suitable material. The contacts 20 and 22, 26 and28 20 and 22 and 26 and 28 are so disposed that when the rocking frameis revolved into one of its extreme positions, as determined by suitablestops, (not shown,) the piece 17 causes electrical connection between 20andf22 and the piece 18 causes connection between 26 and 28, and whenrevolved into the other extreme position the piece 17 causes connectionbetween 26 and 28 and the piece 18 between 20 and 22. Thus it is obviousthat if the springs 16 have the proper tension the pairs of contactswhich will be electrically connected will depend upon the direction ofrotation of the armature, and thus the connections between the armatureand the mains may be reversed to correspond with the direction ofrotation of the armature, and that if the proper current then besupplied to the magnets 7 they may be caused to attract the armatures12, thus separating the contact-surfaces and avoiding all unnecessarywear.

34 represents the armature of the generator, which is caused to revolvewith the shaft 1 by the motion of the train.

35 represents the core of the field-magnet of the generator, and 36 thefield-energizing coil.

37 is a switch, which may be of any desired construction, adapted tocause electrical connection between the terminals 38 and 39 when thearmature-shaft reaches a certain desired speed and to cause saidconnection to be broken when the armature is revolving below this speedor at rest, a switch operated by centrifugal force being shown by way ofexample.

4O denotes one of the dynamo-terminals and is connected to the members20 and 26. 41 is the other dynamo-terminal and is connected to 20 and26.

42 is one of the battery-mains and connects 28 and 28 with one pole ofthe battery 45, While the wire 43 connects 22 and 22 with the switch 44,which when closed connects the wire 43 with the opposite pole of thebattery.

46 indicates lamps or other translating devices supplied by the batteryand generator. The wire 47 leads from one pole of the battery to thecoils of the pole changer and thence to the switch-channel 39. From theterminal 38 the wire 48 leads to the field-coil 36 and thence to theopposite pole of the battery.

The practical operation of my improved system is substantially asfollows: With the car standing, and consequently the dynamoarmatureatrest, we will consider the switches in the various positions shown inthe drawing. Now if the car start in such direction as to cause thearmature-shaft 1 to revolve in the direction indicated by the arrow inthe figure the frictional contact between the shoes 13 and the disk 14will cause the arms to be swung in the direction of rotation, thuscausing the switch to take a position causing electrical connectionbetween the pair of connections 20 and 22 and between the pair26 and28". Should the speed still remain very low, the disk 14 would merelyrevolve in con' tact with the shoes 13 but if the speed increase untilreaching the speed at which the centrifugal switch is adjusted tooperate this switch would cause the connection between 38-and 39 to bemade, and current from the storage battery 45 would flow through thewire 48, coil 36, switch 37 38 39, wire 47, and magnets 7, returning tothe opposite side of the battery, and thus excite the dynamo-field andcause the magnets 7 to attract the armatures 12, breaking the frictionalcontact between the shoes 13 and disk 14, and thus avoiding all wear,which would be excessive ifthe contact remained for any length of timewhile the armature was revolving at a high speed. WVith the armaturerevolving in the direction just taken and the exciting-current asmentioned we will assume that the wire 40 is the positive terminal andthat 41 is the negative terminal of the generator. Therefore if thespeed be sufficient to cause the electromotive force of the generator tobe above that of the battery the generator will supply current to thebattery and lamps upon the closing of the switch 44, and this willcontinue as long as the dynamo is driven at the proper speed.

In the drawing I have merely indicated the switch 44, as this switchforms no part of my present invention. It is obvious that'any switchthat could be made to close the circuit when the electromotive force ofthe generator exceeds that of the battery and open the circuit when theelectromotive force falls below that of the battery might be used, aform which I have found applicable being shown in my application forLetters Patent upon electric switches filed January 18, 1899, Serial No.702,504.

If the speed of the generator fall until the switch 37 opens, which ofcourse it must before the direction of rotation can reverse, the opening of the switch will avoid all loss of current by flowing through thefield-coils and will also allow the springs 16 to bring the shoes 13 incontact with the disk 14. Should the speed now increase or the car stopand start again in the same direction, the operation can be determinedfrom the above. Should the direction of rotation reverse, the frictionalcontact between shoes 13 and disk 14 would cause the arms to revolveuntil connection was made between 26 and 28 and between 20 and 22, andif sufficient speed be reached to close the switch 37 the current willfiow from the battery through the field-coil and bob-bins 7 as before,causing 40 in this case to be the nega= tive and 41 the positiveterminal of the gen erator. The current flowing through the coils 7 willlift the armatures 12, as before, breaking the frictional contact. Ifthe electromotive force of the generator be above that of the batteryand if switch 44 be closed, current will flow from the generator to thebat= tery and lamps in the same direction as before, theconnections-between the dynamo-terminals and the battery-mains beingreversed to correspond with the reversal of rotation of the armature.

I do not wish in any way to limit myself to the particular constructionas shown in the above mentioned drawing, which is given merely as anexample of one form of apparatus embodying my invention and whichmay bethe subject of considerable alteration without departing from theprinciple of the invention.

Having thus described my improvements, what I consider novel, and wishto secure by Letters Patent, is as set forth in the following claims:

1. The combination of a dynamo and its armature driven from a reversiblesource of motion and a rotating member subject to reversal with thesource of motion, with. a polechanging switch operated byfrictionalcontact with the said rotating member, and elec* tromagnetic means forbreaking said frictional contact, substantially as set forth.

2. An electric-1i ghting system for cars comprising a dynamo driven bypower derived from the motion of the car, an electric switch adapted toreverse the connections between the generator and the mains upon itsmovement from one position to another, said movement being caused byfrictional contact with a movable member, the motion ofwhich isdependent upon the direction of motion of the car, and electromagneticmeans for breaking said frictional contact, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a dynamo and its armature driven from a reversiblesource of motion and a movable member deriving motion from saidsource,with an electric switch adapted -to reverse the connectionsbetween the generator and the mains upon reversal of direction ofrotation of the armature,said switch being operated by frictionalcontact between one or more of its members and the said movable member,and electromagnetic means'for breaking the frictional contact,substantially as set forth.

4. In an electric-lighting system for cars,

a dynamo driven by power taken from the caraxle and having its directionof rotation dependent upon the direction of rotation of the axle incombination with a pole changing switch operated by frictional contactwith a movable member, the direction of motion of which depends upon thedirection of rotation of the axle, and electromagnetic means wherebysaid frictional contact may be broken, substantially as set forth.

5. An electric-lighting system for cars comprising electric lamps, astorage battery and a generator driven by power derived from the motionof the car, a circuit containing the generator and the battery, a switchin said circuit adapted to reverse the connections between the generatorand the battery upon reversal of JOHN L. CREVELING.

Witnesses:

GEORGE E. JUcKnTT, H. G. DARWIN.

